U.S. v. Grimes

Full title: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Monik Michelle GRIMES…

Court: United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Date published: Aug 30, 2007

240 F. App'x 220 (9th Cir. 2007)

Opinion

No. 06-10595.

Submitted August 17, 2007^_.

_ This panel unanimously finds this case suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed.R.App.P. 34(a)(2).

Filed August 30, 2007.

Stanley A. Boone, Esq., USF-Office of the U.S. Attorney, Fresno, CA, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Eric V. Kersten, FPDCA-Federal Public Defender's Office, Fresno, CA, for Defendants-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, Oliver W. Wanger, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CR-06-00032-OWW.

Before: PREGERSON, SILER,^__ and BEA, Circuit Judges.

__ The Honorable Eugene E. Siler, Jr., Senior United States Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit, sitting by designation.

MEMORANDUM^___

___ This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.

Monik Michelle Grimes appeals from her 27-month sentence for wire fraud and aiding and abetting the same, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 2, and for making false and fictitious statements to the FBI, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.

Grimes contends that the district court erred when it imposed a two-level enhancement pursuant to USSG § 3B1.3 for abusing a position of trust. We disagree. Section 3B1.3 of the Guidelines provides for a two-level increase in the offense level if the defendant "abused a position of public or private trust . . . in a manner that significantly facilitated the commission or concealment of the offense." USSG § 3B1.3. "[T]he primary trait that distinguishes a person in a position of trust from one who is not is the extent to which the position provides the freedom to commit a difficult-to-detect wrong." United States v. Hill, 915 F.2d 502, 506 (9th Cir. 1990); see also United States v. Oplinger, 150 F.3d 1061, 1069 (9th Cir. 1998). Grimes held a position of trust. See Oplinger, 150 F.3d at 1069; Hill, 915 F.2d at 506.

For the enhancement to apply, the defendant must have exploited the position of trust to facilitate the offense. See Hill, 915 F.2d at 507-08 (finding that it was easier for defendant moving truck driver to steal because he was invited into homes to transport the families personal items). The facts of this case are known to the parties, and we do not recite them here. Grimes was in a position of trust.

Thus, the district court properly applied the enhancement under § 3B1.3. See id. AFFIRMED.